Fluoridation fight brewing in Manchester

THE battle for our tap water is looming. New figures show south Manchester has one of the country’s worst records for tooth decay, leading to fresh calls for fluoride to be added to water supplies.

Supporters of fluoridation say that areas where it has been introduced have seen massive improvements in dental health – particularly for children.

But opponents have likened the process to mass-medication and say not enough is known of the health risks.

The debate over fluoride has been reopened after the government recently gave health authorities new powers to add fluoride to tap water.

And with dental health in the North West among the worst in the country, many observers believe that Greater Manchester could be the first place to introduce fluoride since the new legislation was introduced.

Water companies in the region have already been asked to look into the costs.

And if NHS primary care trusts agree to the price, a consultation into fluoridation could begin next year and fluoride added to tap water as soon as 2008.

Ian Rhodes, spokesman for NHS North West – formerly the Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority – said: “There’s been a lot of support for fluoridation for many years in the North West because if you look at comparable areas, like Sandwell in Birmingham which already has fluoridation, there’s five-times less tooth decay in children because they have had fluoridated water for many years.

“There are no proven health risks.”

In a league table of the 311 health authorities in Britain, Central Manchester NHS Primary Care Trust, which oversees practices in parts of Fallowfield and Chorlton, as well as Whalley Range and Levenshulme, was ranked the 13th worst for dental health.